Governed by the heart

"Elder Tai Ho, Have you heard of the name Bai BaoShi?" Hua Tianshu asked as he switched the topic in order to lighten the intense atmosphere.

"I don't recall."

"Then do you happen to have heard about a female demon being banished from the demon realm or coming to settle here in the mortal realm?"

Elder Tai Ho took a minute to think about it before he shook his head and spoke, "Demons can't choose to come and settle here in the mortal realm. If a demon commits a crime, it is unlikely for them to be banished and more likely for them to be killed on the spot. That's the rule of the demon realm. There is no pity and no forgiveness."

"Bai BaoShi was Bai LiuXian's mother and we believe that she was a demon who can no longer return to the demon realm. Can you think of any reason why that may be so?"

Elder Tai Ho took a deep breath in as he gave it a moment before speaking, "Are you sure she was a demon?"

Hua Tianshu and Jie Fu Lian nodded their heads in unison.

"In that case, it is likely for her to be a high-ranking demon, but female high-ranking demons have a more important status in the demon realm. For the last thousand years, there have been no high-ranking female demons that have left the demon realm and come down to the mortal realm."

Jie Fu Lian looked to be a little confused and he wanted to ask something further but before he could open his mouth, Hua Tianshu had already spoken up first.

"It seems that our investigation was purposefully misled. According to Elder Tai Ho's insights, she is unlikely to be a demon. In that case, we might need to go back and look into things a bit deeper."

Jie Fu Lian was even more confused as he heard Hua Tianshu's words.

He naturally thought Hua Tianshu would also want to ask a few more questions but it seemed like Hua Tianshu had already heard everything that he had wanted to.

With a nod, Elder Tai Ho spoke, "I hope I was of some help. That Brat Jie Fu Lian-" He suddenly clicked his tongue as he recalled some old memories, "He was always a headache but he wasn't a bad kid."

"..." Jie Fu Lian was a bit speechless and stared at the man with a stupefied expression.

"His death was quite a pity but I'm glad to see that you have decided to move on from it," Elder Tai Ho slightly smiled with a sympathetic expression plastered on his face as he looked at Hua Tianshu.

Hua Tianshu also smiled politely as he heard this and said nothing as a response.

"Jie Fu Lian is dead. It's no use worrying about the dead but Hua Tianshu, you are still alive and I can't help but not be worried about you," Elder Tai Ho added as he quickly took a glance at Jie Fu Lian and continued, "You have already heard about Xue Lan's fate, have you not? It wasn't his fault for falling in love but his love was certainly the reason for his demise. Mixing with the demon realm... There is hardly any good coming out of it. It's best for you to think about this more thoroughly."

Jie Fu Lian slightly frowned as he heard this, not being able to understand what the man was saying.

With a smile, Hua Tianshu met Elder Tai Ho's eyes confidently and spoke, "I never consider what is good and what is bad. I am a simple man who is governed by his heart. There is no need for Elder Tai Ho to worry about me. I know exactly what I'm doing."

Elder Tai Ho sighed as he heard this and said nothing more.

Soon, they all said their goodbyes, and the three descended the mountain without any delay.

"Hua Tianshu, what was he talking about?" Jie Fu Lian immediately questioned as he looked over at Hua Tianshu with an expectant gaze.

"Hmm?"

"When he told you to think about it. What did he mean?" Jie Fu Lian asked again, guessing that his previous question wasn't clear enough.

"He was talking about you," Hua Tianshu replied.

"Huh?" Jie Fu Lian's eyebrows creased together and he looked to be confused at first, but eventually, he understood it.

Elder Tai Ho hadn't recognized him as Jie Fu Lian but he had already seen through his facade and guessed that he was a demon.

"That old geezer is always poking his nose where it shouldn't belong," Jie Fu Lian huffed, feeling a little pissed off.

Elder Tai Ho had warned Hua Tianshu about hanging around a demon right in front of that so-called demon's face! This was clearly something to be offended about!

Hua Tianshu softly chuckled as he shook his head.

"Master, I also have a question," Duan Luoyang spoke up, feeling a little left out.

"Hmm?"

"Why did you not ask him about Bai BaoShi?"

"I did ask him about Bai BaoShi."

"But you didn't continue the topic. He said she was probably not a demon and you simply believed him without asking anything more."

Jie Fu Lian also looked to be quite interested in hearing Hua Tianshu's answer.

"Bai BaoShi wasn't her real name," Hua Tianshu sighed as he responded, "We don't know her real name and it is unlikely for Elder Tai Ho to know every single female demon out there. If he hadn't even heard the name Bai BaoShi, it is obvious that he would not be able to give us any information."

"Oh~" Duan Luoyang and Jie Fu Lian reacted together.

"But master, why did we leave so soon? The sun has already gone down, we might not even find a good inn to stay the night. It would have been better to stay with Elder Tai Ho."

Jie Fu Lian scoffed as he heard this and questioned, "You want to live in that shabby house that can't even be called a house?"

"..."

'At least it was better than sleeping on the street,' Duan Luoyang thought.

"It's late and that's why we left." Hua Tianshu spoke up as he informed, "At night, it is better not to meet Elder Tai Ho."

"Eh?"

Unlike Duan Luoyang, Jie Fu Lian wasn't so confused to hear this. Instead, he nodded his head as he agreed with Hua Tianshu, "Elder Tai Ho gets scary at night."

Duan Luoyang's eyebrows creased together as he heard this and his creative imagination made him imagine quite a lot of scenarios that he probably shouldn't have imagined.

"At night, Elder Tai Ho forges swords," Hua Tianshu added with a sigh, already knowing that if he didn't explain, his disciple would imagine the worst. "During the process, storm clouds churn above the entire mountain. Nobody knows when lightning might strike. It rains and you can hear the thunder rumbling all night long."

Duan Luoyang looked to be a bit stunned as he heard this and for a second here, he wondered if his master was lying to scare him or really telling the truth.

"This is the Elder Tai Ho of the legends," Jie Fu Lian laughed as he chimed in, "Of course, he would do something like this. The result of such dedication is clearly seen in the finished sword that can shake both heaven and hell."

"But... Doesn't his disciple also live up there?"

"Disciple?" For a second, Jie Fu Lian looked a little lost before he suddenly remembered the girl they had just met a few hours ago, "Ah, you mean Ren Lei?"

Duan Luoyang nodded his head.

"She is probably used to it by now," Jie Fu Lian shrugged his shoulder as he answered, "Since she's his disciple, she might also be just as crazy as him. She has quite the temper, maybe even lightning doesn't dare fall on her."

His words were only meant to be a joke, but Duan Luoyang, who had a young and pure heart, naively believed in everything he said.

Duan Luoyang looked to be a little excited as he exclaimed, "If she's already living a life like this, that little sister is definitely going to become very famous in the martial world. I should also work hard!"

His eyes trailed towards Hua Tianshu expectantly.

Hua Tianshu gave a small thin smile that wasn't really a smile and spoke, "You should work hard. To start off, you should run down the mountain and book us a place to sleep."

"..." Duan Luoyang, who had been greatly motivated just a few seconds ago, suddenly felt as if he was being teased.

"That's a great idea!" Jie Fu Lian exclaimed with a grin, "I've heard that many great saints choose to live on top of mountains because traveling around becomes a great form of exercise. When you were young, you also did it a lot, didn't you, Brother Hua?"

"En," Hua Tianshu, with his eyes closed and his hands crossed behind his back, nodded with an expressionless face.

Duan Luoyang's excitement came back and he enthusiastically exclaimed, "Then leave it to me! I'll make sure to find us the best accommodation possible!"

After saying this, the boy ran ahead and descended the mountain first.

Once he was out of sight, Hua Tianshu and Jie Fu Lian both looked in the direction he had gone off and gave a thin smile as they muttered in unison, "So naive..."